Obama Foundation floats idea of closing roads in Jackson Park

The Obama Foundation is floating the idea of closing a major thoroughfare that connects Lake Shore Drive motorists to the South Side and a key route to Indiana and Michigan to create a pedestrian campus around its planned presidential library and museum in Jackson Park, according to several people briefed on the private discussions.

The bold suggestion to close off Cornell Drive between 60th and 67th streets is being floated with community leaders. Such a move would be yet another seismic shift for the historic park, where private interests are advancing major changes, from the addition of the Obama Presidential Center to an overhaul of two sleepy golf courses into a championship-caliber lakefront course.

The roadway closing would allow visitors to stroll without traffic from the presidential center to the Museum of Science and Industry, the Wooded Island nature site and an upgraded golf course, if that project proceeds. It would create a museum campus on the South Side much like the one situated at the south end of Grant Park.

Discussions are also under way to close Marquette Drive between Cornell and Lake Shore Drive, a route that cuts through the southern end of the park and bisects the current Jackson Park Golf Course. Eliminating traffic on that road could ease the design of a tournament-worthy course.

Closing Cornell holds appeal for preservationists, who would like to see the park restored to the country-style retreat envisioned more than a century ago by its co-designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. But it is also likely to engender stiff opposition from local residents who use the route as a critical connector.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, "It is premature to talk about specific ideas related to site configuration, improvements, street and access matters and related issues. Options will be fully vetted once additional details on the center have been developed." The process will include soliciting community views, she added.

The Obama Foundation, the not-for-profit group developing the presidential center, declined to comment. Michael Kelly, the Chicago Park District chief executive and general superintendent, could not be reached for comment.

When Olmsted and Vaux designed parks, the idea was for visitors to engage in pleasure driving, whether by horse and carriage or by automobile, said Charles Birnbaum, president and chief executive of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, an educational and research organization.

"Slower-speed travel is what should happen," he said, whether by walkers, runners or bicyclists. On an interim basis, Chicago could experiment with closing the roads on weekends, he said, as New York's Central Park has done.

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But strong opposition to the road closings is likely to surface from South Side residents who rely on the arteries.

The Rev. Byron Brazier, pastor of Apostolic Church of God in neighboring Woodlawn, said his initial reaction is that any aesthetic benefits would be outweighed by potential inconveniences for South Side residents.

"It is my belief that it will virtually cul-de-sac the Southeast Side of Chicago ... and stunt the growth," said Brazier, a prominent community leader, who called for planners to have ongoing conversations about their ideas with community members.

Juanita Irizarry, executive director of watchdog group Friends of the Parks, said, "I think this falls right in line with our concern that there should be a comprehensive planning process (for Jackson Park) that is public rather than in piecemeal and private conversations."